Chadwick Boseman, the rising star who shot to fame playing Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and the leading role in Black Panther, the first superhero of African descent in mainstream America comics, has died of colon cancer. He was 43.
His publicist
Nicki Firavante confirmed that the actor died at his Los Angeles home with his
wife and family by his side.
According to
his family, Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago. He never
spoke publicly about his diagnosis.
“A true
fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films
you have come to love so much,” his family said in a statement to the
Associated Press. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August
Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more — all were
filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the
honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther."
Boseman’s
talent and versatility were evident.
In 2013’s 42, he
played Jackie Robinson, the first Black man to play in Major League Baseball in
the modern era. When the Dodgers signed Robinson in 1947, the team was heralded
for ending racial segregation in the sport.
The next year,
Boseman starred in Get on Up as James Brown, the dynamite
singer and Godfather of Soul who blazed several trails in funk music in the
later 20th century.
Of course, his
iconic role in Black Panther solidified his legacy in
Hollywood. The film to date has made nearly $1.4 billion in the box office
worldwide. In it, he plays T’Challa, who is crowned king of Wakanda following
his father’s death until he’s challenged by Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), who
plans to abandon the country’s policies to start a new revolution.
Boseman’s last
role was in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, a drama following a group
of aging Vietnam War veterans who return to find the remains of their fallen
squad leader as well as a treasure they’d buried while serving there.
SOURCE: ADVOCATE DOT COM
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